A Game Changer
by K-the-Queen-of-Typos
Summary: Summary: If Mina simply knew the truth, if she knew what started it all, how much different would our beloved fourth book of the An Unfortunate Fairy Tale collection be? (Under a new username, but this account and fanfiction still belongs to K-Chan's Kisses) Warning: this contains spoilers to Reign
1. Chapter 1

A Game Changer

**Summary: If Mina simply knew the truth, if she knew what started it all, how much different would our beloved fourth book of the ****An Unfortunate Fairy Tale ****collection be? (Under a new username, but this account and fanfiction still belongs to K-Chan's Kisses)**

**Warning: this contains spoilers to ****Reign**

Mina's POV

I watch Teague rip across the sky, a flame more energetic than the sun trailing behind him, as he goes to the castle in order to help _me_. This is only the beginning of my journey and I'm already racked with guilt. How is it possible for Teague to go from a caring, loving gentleman to, well, _pure_ evil? Ever said that a betrayal caused him to become the way his is, but what could've been that potent to the point of creating a mass murderer?

A bright light catches my eye and I groan. I quickly step into my illuminating class slippers just in time for the light to become almost blinding and a quiet _'pop'_ pushes me back to where I belong.

…

My body feels hot and rubbery by the time I appear on the country club driveway; and my legs, which were perfectly fine a second ago, collapse beneath me within seconds of being back. Brody, who stands where I left him, rushes over to me as quickly as he can to help me up.

"What just happened? You disappeared, and now you're here again. Where'd you go?" He brushes my skin as he helps me up and jerks his hand back, "You're burning up! Are you okay?"

"It'll pass, just give me a second," I say, waving him off absentmindedly. I guess going into the past makes me feel like what took the Titanic down, and shooting into the future makes me feel like Mt. Vesuvius? At least now I know how to dress for the occasion.

I let Brody lead me into the country club to the private sitting room as my thoughts overtake me. These stupid shoes aren't working. It sent me to Teague when he needed a friend to rant to. Granted, I made him feel better, so I did do something on my short trip, but that wasn't what I was supposed to do! Tears well up in my eyes as realization hits: I'm a failure! My family's going to die because these freaking shoes can't do their job well enough to give me a chance to even start what I was going to do!

"Are you alright," Brody asks, wrapping his strong arms around me. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I went back in time. The shoes did it. I was supposed to help my ancestors and save myself and my family from disappearing."

It took Brody a minute to let what I said sink in, and when it did, his voice became low and his response slow, "you knew the shoes did this? That they would take you back in time? When were you going to tell me?"

"Soon. After tonight. I don't know. I was just given them today, and no one told me when they would work—only that they needed to charge. Then—" I dramatically wave my arms in the air, "—poof I would go. But they sent me to the wrong time. I was nowhere near where I should have been. In fact I was on the wrong plane entirely."

His eyes narrowed, "exactly where'd you end up?"

"On the Fae plane. I was attacked by a griffin. But don't worry. I was saved. By another griffin. A griffin I was supposed to kill, actually, because it was actually Teague, the guy who shape-shifted into a wolf and tried to take a chunk out of you. We had a heart to heart before I left. He's pretty gentlemanly right now, so I must've caught him before he got his evil highlights done. Right now he's looking for my ride home."

Brody looked down right pissed. I'm not sure if that's because I went on another quest without telling him—thought it's not like I had time to prepare, myself—or the fact that I had a nice little chat with the dude who tried to eat him—well I doubt Teague would eat him, just severely dismember him.

"Take the shoes off," he demanded.

"I can't. I need to be ready in case they work again. In fact, give me your phone. I need to call Mei."

His lips thinned in frustration, but he let me have his phone anyway. I quickly dialed Mei's number and she picked up on the second ring.

"Mei, it's me. It didn't work. I didn't fix anything." I rush out, "I've doomed everyone."

"Mina, Mina. Calm down, okay?" There was muffled whispering, but I could still hear the words 'change her mind' somewhat clearly. "You're on speaker now." Mei's voice sounded farther away. "Constance is here."

I put them on speaker phone, too, for Brody to hear. "I ended up on the Fae plane. Not the human one. The shoes are defective. Pretty, but defective."

There's a moment of silence before Constance speaks, "They're not defective. How long were you gone?"

"For a few minutes," I answered, Brody nodding in agreement.

"Then they took you exactly where you needed to be for the right about of time. I talked with Schumacher, and he explained that they can only hold you in time for a certain amount before their powers are depleted for good. Look at the heel."

I slide the shoe off and turn it over. Sure enough, within the heel is a small hourglass. The top half was filled with hundreds, maybe thousands, of tiny diamonds that look like sand. A few have fallen, but the top is still pretty full.

"Do you have time left?"

"Yes, there are still diamonds within the heel," I say, taking a breath of relief.

"Then you still have time. Trust the shoes; trust Schumacher. Just don't lose them—don't even take them off," Constance warns me. "We never know if you'll finish on time. If you don't, we'll have to try again from the start."

"Constance, don't seed doubt in her! You can do it, Mina, I know you will. You will fix this," Mei jumps in, trying to calm me down a bit.

"What do I do now?" I ask. A knock rings out in the room. "Wait a second," I whisper. Mr. Carmichael pops his head into the room and motions for Brody to follow him into the hall. When he's out of the door, I whisper softly. "I met Teague on the Fae plane, and he didn't know who I was." I turn the volume down do Brody and his dad doesn't hear me through the door, "he was so…nice. He was caring, honest, and funny. What happened to him?"

"Never mind what changed him, what'd going to keep him from changing is you," Mei says.

"Wait I thought you guys wanted me to k—"

"Mei reminded me of a very…important fact that cannot be ignored," Constance interjects.

"And that is?"

"You've done this mission before and it didn't work the first time." I can hear her running her hands through her hair and feel the waves of stress rolling off of her.

"What do you mean I've already done this mission?!" I say, near shouting. I look over see if I was loud Brody and his father to hear me to want to reenter the room. Luckily, the door didn't swing open, so I'm in the clear for now. "I think I would've remembered that."

"You're the one who started the curse, Mina," Mei says softly. "I was there. I saw you throughout the mission and saw it slowly spiral downhill. I came to the Fae Godmothers after Teague turned, where I was wasn't safe and I had information to give them that would help. You broke his heart and someone took him down while he was still hurting."

The waves of guilt I felt earlier flood over me. It was me. I ruined his life. I started it all. It was me. I'm the reason all my family members had to die. I'm the reason that my father is gone. I killed him. It's entirely my fault. I killed him.

"Tell me how I can fix this," I choke out, the urge to sob tightening on my throat.

"Make him fall in love." Constance answers. "It can be with you or someone else, but just make sure it happens. If he's with someone who can stabilize him, then none of this will happen."

A dim but still noticeable light makes itself know and I swallow loudly. "The shoe's starting to glow again."

"Mina," Mei almost shouts into the phone, "just remember that the timeline may change us, but here and now we will always love you. I love you and it was an honor to be your godmother."

The shoes are getting brighter by the second. I put down the phone and take a step away from it. "I love you too, Mei. Thank you for everything, Mei, Constance. Tell my family I love them."

"I'll always be with you. Take that as a hint, if you will, and remember this: even a spider can get trapped in its own webs at times. Be careful about what you tell people, truth or lies!"

I smile at the phone, the old saying, undoubtedly, wasn't supposed to have its own meaning placed after it. Mei's English phrases and proverbs have always needed help, so I'm glad my last real moment with her is the way it's been all along.

"I will, I promise," I grin. Brody comes through the door again just as the shoes are near traveling light. His face pales and I give him a sad smile. "I'm sorry to say this may be our last goodbye."

Quicker than I've ever seen him move, Brody clears the room in time to kiss me goodbye. "I love you, Mina, remember that if you never see me again."

"I love you too, Brody," I reply with a quick kiss to his lips. The second I step back, the shoes go throw me into the past with a _pop. _My only thought in the midst of my short travels is this: do I really mean what I said to him or was it to make that final moment perfect?

**I hope you like it! I couldn't help but make a fanfic for ****Reign**** as soon as I finished it, there were so many what-if's running through my mind! I'm still going to update me other fanfics, so if you're a fan of "Happily Never After" or "Carnival" stay tuned. **

**Quick Note: High freaking five to me because my fanfiction "Happily Never After" has a few scenes similar to those in ****Reign** **and "HNA: was published on April 13****th****, 2014 and ****Reign**** came out this November. I was—hell, I ****_am_****—so happy that I guessed those scenes!**

**Sorry for any and all typos,**

**K-the-Queen-of-Typos, formerly K-Chan's Kisses**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Last Time_**

_"I'll always be with you. Take that as a hint, if you will, and remember this: even a spider can get trapped in its own webs at times. Be careful about what you tell people, truth or lies!"_

_I smile at the phone, the old saying, undoubtedly, wasn't supposed to have its own meaning placed after it. Mei's English phrases and proverbs have always needed help, so I'm glad my last real moment with her is the way it's been all along._

_"I will, I promise," I grin. Brody comes through the door again just as the shoes are near traveling light. His face pales and I give him a sad smile. "I'm sorry to say this may be our last goodbye."_

_Quicker than I've ever seen him move, Brody clears the room in time to kiss me goodbye. "I love you, Mina, remember that if you never see me again."_

_"I love you too, Brody," I reply with a quick kiss to his lips. The second I step back, the shoes go throw me into the past with a pop. My only thought in the midst of my short travels is this: do I really mean what I said to him or was it to make that final moment perfect?_

Mina's POV

This time I'm prepared for the chill that comes with traveling to the past. The second I feel my heels plant on the moist grass, I start blowing on my hands, trying to get some warmth in them. My teeth clatter to the point that I barely hear the rustle of footsteps. I look up and swallow a lump in my throat. Giants. Great. Freaking fantastic.

"Um, hi," I say, waving awkwardly. The giants reply to my greeting by beating their clubs against their crested shields—crests! Oh my god Teague must've sent them after me. The beating gradually gets louder until it reaches a deafening decibel. I barely register one of them yelling "I got her!" before ducking under a large hand. I make to run, but my heels get stuck to the hem of my dress, sending me into a fight for my balance. The giant takes advantage in my moment of vulnerability not-so-elegantly snatches me into his hands.

"What do you want," I ask, a growl laced through my words.

"Now I see why the prince asked for this one," a giant with sunspots splattered across his nose chuckles. "We're been waiting for you for hours, ma'am. The younger ones here got a bit antsy and wanted to scare you. Peelof, let her down."

The giant carrying me, Peelof, sets me not-so-genteelly on the floor. I shoot him a dirty look and send him a dirty look. I turn to the more polite giant to ask my question, "why are you waiting for me?"

"Captain Plaith said to escort you to the palace," he answers. "If you wouldn't mind, Miss, we should start towards the coach."

"I prefer Louie Vuitton, actually," I mumble to myself humorously.

"What was that?" One of the less courteous giants boom.

"Nothing, nothing," I chuckle nervously, "Just clearing my throat."

…

We walk for a good quarter mile until we reach a coach drawn by four horse-sized mice. I can just feel my mother's urge to throw a shoe at them from all the way across space and time. If there's one thing my mother hates, it's rodents.

"Get in," the sassy giant from earlier says, opening the door to the coach and shoving me in it. I land against the purple velvety cushion upside down. My back lays flat against the seat and my feet against the backing.

"At least he opened the door like a gentleman," I grumble, pushing my feet against the carriage's walls to initiate a roll. I get to my feet the second the animal-powered vehicle sets into motion and I'm back to falling onto the seat again. Just my luck. I sure hope out-of-place hair and light bruises are in this season.

I right myself for the second time in the past sixty seconds and draw the curtains. The sun is starting to set. I wonder if Teague's betrothal has passed yet. And unfamiliar sensation washes over me and my stomach clinches at the thought. Was that…anxiety? Over Teague's relationship status? I ignore the feeling and continue to stare out of the window with my focus on the swaying of the car. Despite the situation I'm in-you know, prepping to be the Pat Sajak of "Wheel of Fae Fiancés" and a contestant of the "game" with the most powerful person on the plane—I'm surprisingly relaxed. It's probably the rocking motion.

…

There's a sudden stop and my eyes snap open. I run my hands across my face. I can't _believe_ I just fell asleep. I look out the window. We're at the castle. Or at least nearing it. We're above the entrance I used to get in here the day I ruined everything. The view of the lake and the mountains are the same as they will be in a few generations, despite the destruction caused—or rather the destruction I'm going to prevent. My attention flickers to something bright passing by my window. Was that a…unicorn?

My amazement by the elegant-looking steed is immediately replaced by the other creatures trotting by. Large tigers, Rhino-like creatures, and tamed griffins trot by with a sense of belonging. I count the carriages passing and come up with a total of twelve before my coach starts rolling. Twelve…didn't Teague say he had twelve prospective fiancés?

My heart beats harder the closer we get to the snowcapped mountains. The short-lived serenity I felt a while ago disappears without a trace. Hoards of griffons circle the palace in a uniformed manner. Their formation has an almost scientific exactness to it, like an atom's electrons orbiting its nucleus. The Fates must have been planning this entire thing out since Teague's birth God knows how many years ago. This night will be perfect if they have anything to say about it and that is absolutely nerve-wrecking. If the Teague I know now—wait would it be the Teague I used to know or will know? Oh forget it—would joke that I'm nervous about meeting my future in-laws.

I give an amused snort. It's funny how I'm pondering what the version of the Fae prince that's slaughtered many a Grimm would say about my anxiety rather than how I'm going to impress the pre-prick Prince. Odd how things work out, hu?

The carriage keeps rolling forward, coming to a stop only for my competitors—though I would barely call them that since my main goal isn't for him to like it and put a ring on it—to be announced and escorted out of their stagecoaches. There's a light knocking on the window meant for passenger-driver interaction. I slide the window open to see a young, rather familiar brownie man with a smile on his face.

"Miss, you are to be introduced soon. May I have your name and what kingdom you reside from," he says politely.

Oh. Yeah. That. Am I supposed to give him the truth or lie to him? Mei said be careful about what I say, but what real harm can come from telling them? It's not like any of them have been to my plane yet.

"Wilhelmina," I tell him, "I'm Wilhelmina Grimm from Kennedy."

"Kennedy?" The man furrows his brows in confusion, "I have not heard of that kingdom before."

"I would think so," I say with a knowing smile, "I live in a very…secluded area. No one save for royals can find my family unless we want them to."

The brownie just nods and turns back to steering the coach. I mentally pat myself on the back. I've been getting better at twisting the truth to my convenience. It's true that only royals, those linked to the Story, that is, can find my family and I, and, at this point of time, we're the ones to contact them first, thus making them able to find us. I should really try something in justice when I'm older. I'm good at this whole using-the-truth-to-your-advantage thing.

"Be prepared, Princess Wilhelmina," the man calls back to my quietly as we come to a stop in front of the castle. I smooth my dress and make a last minute attempt to fix my hair. The door opens and I get a taste of what it feels like to be on the red carpet and, FYI, it sucks. A lot.

_"ANNOUNCING PRINCESS WHILHELMINA GRIMM OF KENNEDY,"_ a loud voice bellows. A hoard of towns people are lined up on the sides of the pathway to the castle entrance, throwing flower petals, wishing me and the others well, and trying to get bets going on who will win the prince's heart. Some stop to think about my announcement, but most shake it off. I guess geography isn't required here, so if they don't know about it they'll just assume it's really far away.

"Okay, Mina. Dream it, believe it, be it. Don't make a mistake. Be like Beyonce. Be Queen. Be Flawless." I mutter to myself.

With a deep breath, I, to my surprise, step out of my coach with an air of grace to me. I catch a glimpse of myself in the reflection of the marble pillars and smile. My dress swishes beautifully at my feet, letting a peak of my shoes flash by with every step. My hair is surprisingly in place and still looking as beautiful as it was on the other plane. My skin looks as smooth as the marble it's reflecting off of. A smile creeps its way to my face.

_I can do this._

**Sorry. Twas hella short. I was going to add to it, but I couldn't find a way to continue and feel good about it. My fellow authors will understand (hopefully). Things'll pick up soon, don't you guys worry. Sorry to annoys you, but here's a quick promo:**

· **_Tumblr:https: blog/kristinthetruetribute and blog/urlsrreallydifficulttocomeupwith_**

· **_Instagram:(it's mostly scenery on there) /kristin_the_true_tribute/_**

· **_Youtube: (One video is already up) u/0/112698922907030313224/posts/p/pub_**

· **_Vine: /u/1074573740513423360_**

· **_Twitter: /Kthetruetribute_**

· **_Wattpad: user/K-the-Queen-Tribute_**

**Sorry for any and all typos!**

**-K**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Last Time_**

_With a deep breath, I, to my surprise, step out of my coach with an air of grace to me. I catch a glimpse of myself in the reflection of the marble pillars and smile. My dress swishes beautifully at my feet, letting a peak of my shoes flash by with every step. My hair is surprisingly in place and still looking as beautiful as it was on the other plane. My skin looks as smooth as the marble it's reflecting off of. A smile creeps its way to my face._

_**I can do this.**_

* * *

**Mina's POV**

The inside of the palace is just as extravagant on the inside as it is on the outside. The ceilings were high and made of an almost transparent layer of marble. Every twenty feet or so there is a crystal chandelier with some sort of glowing Fae gem (because I know for a fact that they don't have light bulbs here). There's a modest painting of the royal family on the wall above the three thrones under the archway. I'm guessing they just put the thrones there for today because, no matter how fancy this room is, it doesn't look official enough to be the throne room.

My ears pick up the whispered conversations from all around me as I walk up the red carpet towards the royals. I'm not all that jazzed about going to say hi to the ever lovely Queen Maeve and her surprisingly nice husband, but the rest of the contenders in this Fae Prince Contest are lined up to shake hands with them so that means I have to, too. I run all the ways that this can go wrong in my head as I get closer to the royals. With a deep breath, I step up to the trio with a polite smile.

"Hello, your, um," damn, I was too focused on what could go wrong than what I'm supposed to say, "Royalnesses? my name is M—"

"Mina!" Teague blurts out, to my amusement, awkwardly. His mother arches an eyebrow at us (though I'm not sure if it's for my idiotic moment or his).

"We, um," Teague clears his throat and gains his cool composer, "met earlier. She's the addition I was telling you about."

"Oh you're the girl who has my boy up in flames," King Lucian chuckles loudly. "I think you'll be a solid contender seeing that he was racing back here to get you our best—"

"Accommodations to make sure you were not injured by anything in the woods, namely another griffin," Teague's glare send chills through the room and people notably recoiled at his change of attitude. I didn't though, seeing that I've been on the receiving end of one of those looks when he was willing to kill me and have lived to tell the tale.

"Either way," I try to cut through the awkwardness, "I am grateful for his kindness and your hospitality. Thank you for everything, your Highness—"

"At least she got it right this time," Queen Maeve snips.

I don't bother finishing my sentence. I just curtsy to the King and Queen and, just before I go to do the same to Teague, he catches my left hand and places a kiss right. On. My. Ring. **Finger! **Oh boy.

"Thanks for the quick save, m'lady," he whispers. I nod dumbly and he motions me to go to the right of the thrones where the other girls are. Some of the girls throw a quick, dirty look at me while a few others brazenly glare at me. If my blush wasn't doing the job, I'm pretty sure the heat from their stares would've kept me nice and toasty.

Seeing that I was the last one to greet the royals, I'm left standing awkwardly as they all look at me. The king announces to the crowd of people that we all are going into a back room for a short intermission before, and I quote, "the real fun begins".

A quartet of guards lead us into a moderately sized indoor garden with a water fountain in the middle of it. Everyone immediately takes a seat at the different couches and some around the fountain as if they rehearsed this earlier today. One girl, Annalora, stays standing but I don't think it's because of social awkwardness like me.

"Who are you? I don't know you. Why are you here?" The questions vaulted out of the girl's mouth faster than diesel catches fire. Annalora's eyes were ablaze and it didn't help that her amber dress and blonde hair accented the petite girl's angry expression.

"I'm here for the food, of course." I internally flinch at my snarky comment. It was a reflex. After dealing with Jared and Ever for a year, things like this just come naturally.

"I knew it," Annalora dramatically huffed. She turned around and sat down next to Ever, who looks way different now than she does a few hundred years from no—wait. How old is she?! "I heard there were only eleven, but she makes us twelve. I wonder what she did" the blonde Fae pierces her lips suggestively, "to earn the spot."

Another beautiful girl in an emerald green dress approached me. Her skin was a lovely brown, and her hair a dark green piled high and woven with leaves and vines throughout. Her reception was much kinder than Annalora's—the girl gives my hand a warm squeeze. Her skin, though soft, has an odd pattern to it. Wait—it's not skin. It's bark, but it's soft to the tough.

"I'm Dinah, a wood nymph. Welcome, and I'm sorry for Annalora's reception of you. After all, she's part gnome, and we all know gnomes have no manners." I politely ignore the racist (specicst?) statement and glance over at Annalora. She gives a shrug of acceptance as if it was a fact of life. "Come sit with us. You must be nervous."

I sit down next to her, studying the girls, while Dinah gave quick introductions. My head spins as I try to match the names with the faces and races. I finally settle on trying to go by the color of the dress—or in some cases, the girl herself. Fuchsia, a pink fairy, has small iridescent wings. Shaya is a nixie with green skin and dark waist-length hair. She sits close to the fountain with her shoes at her side, dipping her toes in the cool water. I wonder if she's somehow related to Nix.

Ever, though, still shocks me. Her jet black hair falls in soft curls down her back. Her pale blue dress, something she never would be caught wearing nowadays, was trimmed with silver lace. Her face shows hints of anticipation and anxiety. She keeps clasping and unclasping her hands, reaching up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. To put it simply, she looks nervous and lost. My feet twitch to go to my future friend from the past.

Before I can do anything, the door is thrown open and a guard demands for us to follow him. The girls file into a double-file line and I squirm my way to Ever all the way in the back. I let the sound of heels clicking give my thoughts some background. I didn't to go up to Ever myself to be introduced, Jared did that. She's never told me what she was like before everything in regards to split so I have no clue what to talk about. Maybe since she's all dolled up she'd want to talk about girlie stuff? Maybe if I compliment her dress then—

"Ouch!" I yelp, holding my cheek in pain.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh," Ever chatters, "I'm so so so so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you I swear!"

The guard leading us stops and turns his attention to us, "Is there a problem back there ladies? The royals specifically mentioned no violence in your invitations here and you'd be wise to adhere to their wishes." The man's eyes cut to me, "tell me, Princess Mina, did this young lady make an attempt on your life?"

"Who, Ever?" I chuckle lightly, "she didn't do a thing wrong. I was asking her to show me those stunning wings of hers and when I tried to get a better look at how they fluttered I got myself wacked." Thumping my head, giving the man a bubbly, flat out idiotic grin I cheerily tell him, "I'm such a klutz sometimes. It's all my fault, really. Sorry for worrying you, sir."

Turns out the stout, stern-looking man is actually a big softie for a dolled up dummy and melts into mush into armor, "it's quite alright, Princess Mina. Just try to be more careful next time."

"Oh course," I beam, "thank you for your concern. I'll let the royals know how good you were to me the next chance I get."

The man nods, turns on his heels and continues leading us down the hall. Ever gingerly reaches out to touch my arm, "thank you for that, Princess."

"It's no problem," I reassure her, patting her hand gently. "Besides, I was looking for a chance to talk to you. You looked like you'd be a interesting person to converse with."

Ever blushes a little at the compliment, "thank you. May I ask princess—"

"Mina, just call me Mina."

"Well then, Mina," she starts over, "how did you know it was my wings that hit you? I was hiding them, or at least I think I was. Were they showing?"

"No, you couldn't see them." I lean closer as if we were sharing a secret, "I'm glad that the guard didn't notice that. He would've blown a switch if he caught on. You can only tell you have wings because the fluttering is causing a slight breeze."

"Sorry if it was disturbing you, pri—er Mina? They do that when I'm nervous. I'm working on controlling them, though."

"It's okay. It's just a good thing you swatted me, not Miss Grumpy over there," I say, gesturing over to Annalora.

Ever gave a soft chuckle in response, "yeah, I guess you're right about that."

"I think you should show your wings, I heard pixie wings are supposed to be absolutely stunning."

"Maybe one day," she blushes, "you know, when I get control over them. Until then, I don't want the prince to see how nervous he makes me."

"Do you love him?" I ask. It would explain why she stuck with Jared in the future. He's the good side of Teague and, despite his faults, he has his charming moments.

Her blush gets deeper, "well I don't love him yet. I just think he's really kind and sweet. I've seen him across the kingdom helping out the villagers and their little ones when no one is looking. That's usually what I do, so it's amazing to see someone so high up do the same, don't you think?"

I hold back a snort. I never pictured any version of Ever as the type to help the masses and their children. My respect for the prince and the pixie have gone up.

"You two would make a good couple," I say, genuinely meaning it. "You would do a lot of good for the kingdom."

Ever seems comfortable around me in the moment and decides to give my right hand a quick squeeze, "you would make a lovely bride for him, too. It seems like you're not for anyone suffering unjustly. You're a quick thinker, Mina."

Before I can argue against Ever's opinion on me being with the prince, the guard throw open a set of wooden double doors. My heart drops to my stomach before deciding it doesn't belong there. I fight the urge to run from the room. Now normally elegantly-furnished rooms don't make me want to tear up, but this is the exception because this is _where it all began. _Flashes of the battle, the bloodshed, the two lives we almost lost, the two that were ripped away from me when I finally, _finally _got them back, and the reason I'm here today run across my mind like a stampede. It doesn't help that the stand that would hold the book that would slaughter my family for generations to come is shining there in the middle of the room. And behind it stand the three people who can readily command the book and destroy me.

"Are you alright, Mina," Ever whispers, shaking my arm a bit.

"No," I reply without another thought.

Good thing she doesn't have time to say anything before King Lucian gives us another welcoming speech.

"Thank you for coming, girls. We are honored by your presence, but as you know the choosing ceremony is only just the beginning. Some of you have traveled a great distance to be here for the betrothal. Your families believe you posses a beauty…" I roll my eyes at this. Is that all we're looking for here, a pretty face? "But no matter what the qualities for which your families praise you, we are searching for someone with very specific traits. You must meet all of our royal requirements. Your journey here will end right now unless you can prove yourself with a few tests."

A smile curls its way onto my lips. This is feeling a _lot _like the Bachelor right now and if I don't get a rose within the next few minutes, I'm going to absolutely _die _of shock. Now that I think of it, I really should be taking this 104% more seriously, but I can't help it. This just feels so much like I'm trapped in someone's jackass fanfiction or something.

Snapping out of my thoughts at the sound of heels, I stand on my tip-toes to see who's walking up to the royals. It's Annalora up first, unsurprisingly, but for what?

Maeve steps forward and holds out one long, French-tipped finger, points to the crystal bowl on the pedestal. "Here is your first test. Trial by blood."

Oh good god, was this some cult thing? I'm really not for that. I mean what would my grandmother think of me doing something like this? Oh the old woman would positively die at the thought! Well she's not alive right now since she hasn't been born yet, but still—

I feel something knock into my shoulder, though a bit more lightly than last time. I look to Ever to see her nervously hovering off of the floor by an inch. A quick tug by me pulls her back to the floor, though the blood in her body rockets straight up to her face. "Sorry," she mutters. I shrug it off, taking notice that the rest of the girls look a bit skeptical about the transaction. It's not like this is my plane and you're doing this for a medical test of some sort. For them it might just be some bat-ass crazy evil queen looking for their blood for some sort of sacrifice ritual.

"On the pedestal is a knife. You must prick your finger and let a drop of your blood mingle in the water. Blood is power," yep. Total cult shiznit going on. Noooooope "and the water will sort out the weak from the strong. Also it will determine your heart and your reasons for being here."

I swallow a lump in my throat at the announcement. It's basically like the stuff that's inside mood rings and necklaces, except it rules out who is or isn't a good person. I'm not even sure where my intentions fall under. It's not like I'm here to win over the prince, I'm not here to kill him as others would have wanted, and I'm certainly not here to cause any trouble. In fact, I'm here to make sure Teague finds someone to spend his life with and, you know, _not turn evil and plague my whole family line_. Though I suppose I wouldn't exist if I completed the task, but at least that plane is safe of the Fae.

"How does it exactly work?" Annalora questions, skeptically holding the knife above her hand.

"Your blood will make the crystal bowl or the water react in different ways." The king takes a step forward, taking the knife from her and pricking his own hand with it. When a small bead of water falls in, the water in the bowl swirls, flashes, and sparkles. It takes a few moments for the water to calm again. I guess that's a good reaction for it to have.

Annalora bravely takes the knife to her hand and gives her hand a bit more than a prick. The crystal dish shimmers like a golden snow globe that was freshly shaken.

"Very good, Annalora. Follow Wilsey through the doors, and he will take you to the prepping room."

The attitude-ridden girl gives a misleadingly sweet smile to the trio, gives them a curtsy, and makes to follow the guard who lead us here, Wilsey, to the prepping room. Once her back is turned, her smile turns to a smirk. Well someone's feeling smug today.

"Now who's next," the king asks. He says it in an almost inviting tone and I guess that's enough to put some of us at ease, because Ever's hand goes straight up to the air. The king gives her a kind smile and summons her up. Ever picks up the knife, pricks her finger, and chipperly moves the bleeding finger over the bowl. It turns a deep blue and glitters, though not as much as Annalora's did (maybe that's how she caught an attitude? Annalora's blood? It could be like the human version of an HIV except the H would be F). The pixie's face flushes in embarrassment and looks over to Teague hopefully. He gives her a nod and gentle smile. Aw, how sweet.

The king gestures for Ever to follow Wilsey, who is now back from his short trip, and disappears through the doors. The rest of the girls file into a line after this, leaving me wedged in the middle. Oh couldn't I have been last? I look over my shoulder to see a few nervously chattering their teeth. Nope. They'd _definitely _shoot down an offer to trade places.

Two more girls pass the test and leave the room, leaving eight more to face the blood trial. Seconds tick by and I try my best not to stare at the exit. It's a habit of mine to look for an escape route at all times, but I think it'd be a sign of _major _disrespect here. I shake the thought off as the fuchsia-colored fairy steps up to the bowl and accidentally cuts her finger a little too deep. A few drops spill into crystal and, instead of a grand show, absolutely nothing happens. It's like the bowl is just another glass and the water is good ol' ph7 H2O. The stream of red in the crystal held no flame to the fiery flames on the fairy's cheeks, which is surprising since it's, you know, her legit blood. The Fae makes another attempt at stirring a reaction and sticks her actual finger in there and starts stirring it like it's powdered red Kool Aid on a hot summer's day.

"I'm sorry, Fuchsia, but you will not be chosen," the king says gently, giving the girl a sympathetic stare. Her face scrunches up with unshed tears as she tries from breaking down. The girl behind Fuchsia gives her quick, formal-looking parting hug, as do the girls in the three girls before me. When it comes to my turn, I hold the girl tight for a second, whispering an apology to her. She pulls back, looks into my eyes, and I can see her crack right then and there. She latches onto me and, while this isn't a thing I normally have to do, I hold her for a solid minute, soothingly crooning words of encouragement to her.

"You'll find your own prince one day, okay," I tell her, forcing her to stand up straight and wipe off her face a bit. "He doesn't have to be a royal" I cut a look at Teague who just let out a quiet snort, "but he'll be just what you need. The best things in life happen when you're not forcing them upon yourself. You'll be okay."

Fuchsia gives me a nod and a teary smile, "thank you for your words of wisdom, princess. I hope to return the favor one day."

I give her a smile and nod despite the fact that I doubt that I'll ever see her again. But she doesn't need to know that. Fuchsia gives the last two girls quick hugs and scurries out of the room. There's a stale moment of silence before Maeve clears her throat and makes the next girl in line go. The ones before me go quickly. Shaya's blood made the water rise and dance while Elsa—err Estellya's made the water freeze. Now it's Ferah, a beautiful, red-locked elf's turn. She seems cool, calm and collected when she pricked her finger with the dagger. And that's counting when the bowl turns pitch black.

The Fates are immediately to their feet, calling the guards to attention. "It's an assassin!"

Ferah, in her stoic glory, pulls out twin daggers from the folds of her dress. My body moves before I can even register what's fully going on. All I know is that she's going to kill someone and that's not happening on my watch. I tackle her with all the force I can. I don't know how in the blazes this bad woman held onto those dafted knives while I full on rushed her and managed to flip me under her, but she did and now she's trying to stab me in the face. I hold her hands at bay, despite her obviously superior strength. My hands quiver at the strain and, seeing that the elf seems so enamored by my face right now for, you know, stabbing reasons, I decide to let her get a close up. My forehead crashes into her nose and burst of red darker than her hair squirts out. The bitch—excuse my French—_still _has the audacity to be calmer than still water as she _bleeds _onto me and my dress, but at least the knives are dropped. I push her off of me, scurry to my feet and back the hell away from her as fast as I can. I may be able to deal with bulky, angry Fae, but I don't deal _with literal assassins! _Well there's the Reaper but that was just a one-time thing.

The elf flips—yes, _flips_—to her feet and sprints towards the exit. The guards are already blocking it off, though. Every possible method of escape are covered: the windows, the doors, even the ventilation. Ferah grabs another knife out of her dress's million compartments, prepared to fight it to the end. She looks around for her target, and is surprised to find him gone.

My brows furrow in confusion, "where is T—"

My sentence is cut short when I feel a small, cold breeze pass by me. My lips draw into a thin line. When Teague changes forms it's the farthest thing from good. If Jared meant trouble when he did that, then his original form must be quadruple the threat.

The temperature drops and a shadow forms behind Ferah, slowly encasing her. A shriek escapes her lips as she thrashes around, swiping her knife at the darkness around her. It doesn't take long for her to drop to the floor in a rack of shivers. Ferah wasn't the only one to feel fear, though. The remaining girls look like they are about to faint and it strikes me that, even though they are Fae, not all of them know about the evil of their world.

"Take my hand," I tell the girls next to me. They wordlessly and so do the others on their other sides. I lead them to the other side of the room, and try to keep them from looking at the torture going on. It sounds cruel, but the elf deserves what was coming to her for trying to kill Teague who, at this point, has done no wrong.

I force the girl into a tight circle behind me and have them look at the floor. Though unlike them, my eyes have seen more than their fair share of fights and suffering, and I can stomach seeing what all is going on. Ferah comes to her senses, at Teague's allowance, I notice, and tries to make for the doors again. But the shadow races across the floor right after her. Teague materializes behind of her in all of his raging glory with tousled hair and clothes from shape shifting. He must've made a noise of some sort because the elf whips around and throws her knife right at his forehead.

Fear strikes through me and before I know it, I'm shouting his name in warning. The prince looks my way while he dodges out of the weapon's way as if it were nothing. Ferah, not taking lightly to being ignored, starts making it rain daggers. Teague dodges them all, but that doesn't mean much for most of us because the knives are rocketing towards the group of girls and me. It looks like Ferah realizes where her daggers are going only now, too, because she reaches out as if she can take them all back.

Closing my eyes for possibly the last time, I turn my back to the knives and try to shield the girls as best as I can. I signed up for this knowing what it could mean, they didn't. I hope this is quick.

I count off 104 seconds before I get confused. I didn't feel anything, not even the initial impact. Creaking open one eye then the other I see the girls staring back at me, mouths agape. It's my turn to let my jaw drop because every single knife that was thrown at and dodged by Teague is there, sitting in an invisible wall of rippling energy. I did this? I know I've been able to do small things with the Fae energy buzzing around me during quests and the one time I was here for a battle, _the _battle, but even then I didn't do anything but change my clothes.

I don't get much time to marvel at what I did because Ferah's loud curses slice through my momentary deafness. The giant guards have her firmly locked in their hands and Teague is demanding answers from her.

"I'll tell you nothing," the elf spits.

"You will do as you're told," the kind king booms intimidatingly. And to think I though Teague got all his frightening-ness from his mother.

"My loyalties nor my tongue lie with the monarchy," she hisses, a smirk playing her lips. "I will tell you this: there will be more to try after me and one will come to complete the prophecy. 'He who is whole and harbors unholy shards in his heart will shall be made incomplete by death or new life's feat.' Let's see who will finally finish what I started."

"Silence!" All three royals shouting the same word is terrifying to say the least. Oh good god I hope I finish this final quest and survive in some way because if I cross all three of them, I'm _dead_.

Teague takes his eyes off of Ferah and finally looks over at our corner huddle. He calmly strides across the room, takes my hand in his, and leads me a few steps away from the others.

"You protected me," he grins smugly, "you genuinely fought for me just now." His smirk deepens as he wipes Ferah's blood off of my forehead, "and it looks like you did a very good job. As you can see I didn't need it," he gestures to Ferah's frost burns, "but thank you for doing your best for protecting me and your competitors."

I don't know why his compliments send all the blood rushing to my face, "I-it's no problem. Think of it as repaying you for saving me from the griffin earlier."

He takes my chin in his hand and tilts it towards him, "I think you sacrificing yourself for the fainted pile over there" I look to see that the girls are, indeed, fainted there on the floor and guards are trying to make them come to "is plenty worth thanking you could've easily let them die and win this thing by default. But look where we are now."

"Despite her valor," Maeve's voice calls out, "she has yet to yield her weapons. If you do not let them down it will be considered as treason and you will be tried with that elven scum."

It slipped my mind that the knives are still floating loyally behind me. My pulse quickens and I realize that, just like I didn't know how to catch them, I don't know how to drop them.

"I don't know how to let them down," I tell Teague, panic clawing across my body. "I've never done anything like this. I was only thinking about protecting the girls. I don't know. Please don't let me die."

Pleading with Teague for my life is something was something I did imagine in my trip, but I didn't think that it'd be to save my butt from his mother.

"I'm not going to let you die," Teague says, comfortingly squeezing my arm. "Just listen to everything I say, okay?" I nod obediently "Think of somewhere safe and tell me."

"Home."

"Now imagine the people who make you feel happy."

"Charlie, Mom, Nan, Mei and Mr. Wong"

"Think of someone who makes you feel safe. If they're there then you're safe and you know it."

"Jared," I whisper, looking up at Teague. "He said he'd always be there, that'd he'd always help if I needed it."

And as a flicker of gray flashes across Teague's eye I realize that, even if Jared doesn't exist right now, he is a part of Teague's personality. If Jared could care for me, Teague can, too. And it looks like he might just already.

The knives clang to the floor at the thought.

"See, you did it," Teague says, annoyance lacing through his voice. "Your Jared made you feel awful safe, didn't he? Who is he supposed to be?"

I look at the knives scattered across the floor and laugh. He's jealous of himself and doesn't even know it!

"He's a good friend of mine that helped me come to terms to a wrong doing by my father. You know Jared reminds me of you," I tell him, "but you're a lot more interesting."

A smirk tugs at Teague's lips and he tries hard to fight it off to no avail. "Good to know."

"Ladies," the king calls, "I am sorry you had to see that. Ferah is to be let out into the forest and hunted down by our Reapers. There she will feel the true fear of death being in your presence. Take note all of you who think about going against us, you will be shown no mercy."

"What is going to happen to us now?" Tawny murmured. Her heavy eye makeup had run down her face, leaving trails of black.

"If you want safe," Teague snaps, "then leave right now and don't bother coming back until you decide to grow up. Royals are synonymous for targets. Unless you're willing to die for, this kingdom you may as well save both of our time."

The girl was shell shocked to say the least and wisely held her tongue.

"Let's get this testing over with," Maeve huffs, irritation more than evident throughout her voice. The girls quickly shuffle into line, saving me for last. The others testing was uneventful to say the least. A little shimmer or color change here and there, but nothing special. It's finally my turn with just me and the royal family left in the room.

"Should you bother testing," Maeve asks, arching an eyebrow almost lazily. "The kingdom is safer with someone who has no powers rather than someone who doesn't have control of theirs." My eye twitches. I just saved 6 other girls and her son and you'd think that troll would be at least a little grateful!

"Just let her try," both her husband and son respond, much to my delight. Maeve rolls her eyes and waves me to the bowl. I guess we were never meant to get along no matter what plane or time period we're in.

Taking a deep breath, praying that I don't get some type of disease from all the blood on here, I prick my finger and let the drop fall right in the crystal dish. The surface rippled. The blood drain from my face. What is that supposed to mean? Oh my gosh, if this is meant to reveal my original intentions before I came here, I'm positively going to _die. _

"I told you so," the queen smirks.

"Perhaps, but you must admit, these were not normal circumstances."

"What if she's an assassin as well?" Maeve asks.

"Hardly," the king laughs hartily. A genuine grin peels across my face. It feels good to have someone on my side who has just as much if not more power than the evil queen here.

_Please do something!_

And by a stroke of luck, fate, or what have it, the water starts to sing. That's right _sing_. It sounds like an opera house, a range of tones blending together so well it almost paints a picture there before you. A smile pulls at my lips, and not just because my butt is saved. The look of shock on the queen's face makes me feel smug to say the least, but the look of pride in the king's eyes looks almost fatherly and, quite frankly, I miss that so much. I remember little things about my dad, but it's starting to fade. The memories of the sound of his voice, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, the way he would hold mom just for the sake of it and so much more are all still there but they're getting more and more blurry.

"You may go on to the next test, Princess Mina," the king tells me.

I nod and turn on my feet, stopping short of the door I'm supposed to go to. With a meek smile I turn and look to the royals, "please, call me Mina." I'm glad my exit was graceful because as soon as the doors shut, the world begins to fade in and out until I faint right into Wilsey's awaiting arms. So I guess I do have a streak of damsel in distress in me. Who would've thought?

* * *

**Hey, guys. I know it's been a while since I've last updated. I hope you like this chapter. Tell me if there's anything you'd like me to add or fix, tell me via review (I'm truly crap at replying to PMs. At this point I should just turn it off). **

**Sorry for any and all typos,**

**K!**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Last time:_**

_Please do something!_

_And by a stroke of luck, fate, or what have it, the water starts to sing. That's right sing. It sounds like an opera house, a range of tones blending together so well it almost paints a picture there before you. A smile pulls at my lips, and not just because my butt is saved. The look of shock on the queen's face makes me feel smug to say the least, but the look of pride in the king's eyes looks almost fatherly and, quite frankly, I miss that so much. I remember little things about my dad, but it's starting to fade. The memories of the sound of his voice, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, the way he would hold mom just for the sake of it and so much more are all still there but they're getting more and more blurry._

_"__You may go on to the next test, Princess Mina," the king tells me._

_I nod and turn on my feet, stopping short of the door I'm supposed to go to. With a meek smile I turn and look to the royals, "please, call me Mina." I'm glad my exit was graceful because as soon as the doors shut, the world begins to fade in and out until I faint right into Wilsey's awaiting arms. So I guess I do have a streak of damsel in distress in me. Who would've thought?_

_…_

When I finally come to I hear Annalora, unsurprisingly, complaining about the Ferah situation.

"Serves her right," the gnome huffs. "She was about to ruin my chance of becoming future queen."

If I had all of my wits about me, I'm sure I would've come up with some sort of comment. Ever, on the other hand, is fully awake and gunning to say something. "Don't you mean ruin any of our chances of falling in love with and marrying Prince Teague?"

Annalora shrugs her comment off, "That, too, but it's not what they're hoping for. They are looking for family lines and power. If Teague knows what's best for him, he'll choose me."

"You seem awfully confident about that," Ever confronts her, hands on her hips. A smile pulls at my lips as I feel the wind in the room begin to whip around my friend's wings, mirroring the tempest of a temper within the pixie.

The two begin to bicker amongst themselves, Ever slowly getting the upper hand. Normally I would watch and enjoy the moment seeing that I'm not on the receiving end of Ever's snide comments, but there's a buzzing feeling in the sole of my shoes. I ungracefully plop myself down on one of the cushions in the lush sitting room with a fake, but not exaggerated grimace. Everyone knows that women's shoes are uncomfortable after a while, so for me to so suddenly yank them off and start looking at them isn't all that odd. I let out a sigh of relief to see that the diamonds in the heels haven't moved a bit before turning back into the show.

Annalora stomps past me, her face more red then her hair. "Listen here! I'm of royal gnome blood which means I do not have a pointy head," she points to her perfectly coiffed hair. "Only the mining gnomes have pointed heads!"

Ever raises her chin before dropping a sarcasm-filled insult, "Oh, that's right. I forgot your kingdom lies deep underground. No wonder they think you're beautiful." An undignified guffaw slips out of my mouth before I can reign it in. If there's one thing I can count on Ever for is her sass when she's really riled up.

"You insubordinate"—Annalora snatches the glass shoe out of my hand before I know what's going on and is stomping back towards Ever—"poor, pathetic excuse for a pixie. Someone should teach you manners!"

I'm on my feet chasing behind the shoe-clad gnome in a heartbeat. I reach for my shoe and graze the side of the smooth glass, but Annalora turns and yanks it out of my reach. Her full attention is on my as a wicked grin spreads across her face. I guess she realizes it's me who she inconvenienced and not one of the other, quiet girls instead. I try to get the shoe out of her hand, but with the other one still on my other foot, my balance isn't exactly Gabby Douglas good.

Annalora cackles at my attempts to get the shoe back. "Ah, ah, ah. If you want it back you need to get on your knees and beg."

My eyes narrow dangerously as the gnome laughs at my expense. "Look just because you keep your kingdom's visitors busy by getting on your knees"—I put my closed fist next to my slightly opened mouth, my tongue poking the inside of my cheek—"doesn't mean I need to drop down to your level to get what is rightfully mine."

There are several gasps and undignified laughs around the room. Annalora's breathing gets heavier with anger. "You worthless, insignificant, moronic fool! I will see to it that you are punished once I am queen!"

Dinah takes a step forward, annoyance firmly sketched across her beautiful features. "That is enough, Annalora. Just give her her shoe back."

The request earns he beauty a nasty, pointed look, "hush, nymph. I'm teaching her a lesson."

Her comment causes Dinah's eyes to twitch a bit, but the teen keeps her countenance calm for the most part, "That is not wise, Annalora. You are making enemies of your potential monarchs. Such actions will come back to haunt you."

"Hush," the gnome smirks, turning her attention back to me. "My class is still session."

Standing up straighter and smoothing my dress down, I curl up my fist and launch it into Annalora's face. The girl is sent falling onto a cushion on the floor which she all-so-clumsily falls from. I can tell the princess has never been hit before because instead of retaliating, she just sits there holding her eye tearily.

I gracefully squat down next to Annalora, take the shoe from her hand, and give it a quick inspection. Luckily nothing seems to have been damaged. I stand back up and slide the heel back on my foot.

"Y-you hit me!"

A lazy grin slinks across my lips, "why yes I did. That was the course's final lesson. Class is dismissed."

Annalora starts to get up and Tawny comes running forward, her sympathetic sounds making her sound like an injured bird. The others whisper amongst themselves, undoubtedly about what just happened, and I take a seat next to Ever. "That was phenomenal. I've wanted to that to her forever. Only now, I don't know if want to be in your shoes. She's going o have it out for you. There's no way you'll make it to the end. She'll make sure of that now."

"It doesn't matter, I won't be chosen either way. Isn't in my cards."

"Why would you say that? Is that one of your gifts? Can you see the future?"

"You could say that," I mumble, turning my attention back to me shoe.

"Those are so beautiful," Ever comments, tentatively reaching out to touch it. "I would love to have a pair like that. If I owned those I'd never take them off. These ones I'm wearing are killing me."

"You know there's a type of shoe from my land called combat boots that I think you would like."

Her eyebrows furl in confusion, "why would I want shoes for combat? Is your kingdom at war to need those?"

"Oh it's nothing like that," not exactly true, but oh well. "It's a style of shoe that our soldiers used to wear during combat and they're practical, comfortable, and cute if you get it cut properly."

"It sounds promising," she grins. "When this is all over you'll have to bring me a pair."

"Of course I will. The queen obviously can request any type of shoe she wants and I'll have to bring it to her," I tease.

Ever's cheeks grow light pink, "how do we know that you're not going to be the one who wins?"

"I told you," I shrug, "that card isn't in my deck."

"So you know who'll win?" There's a tinge of hope in her eyes that I can't bring myself to crush. I mean who wants to hear that, in my world, the guy you have a crush on or damn near love is split in two because he's evil and he's tried to kill you on numerous occasions because you chose his other half?

"I don't know the exact outcome, but I do know that you will be spending quite a bit of time with the prince in the future." There. Not a lie, not the full truth, no hurt feelings.

She gives me a pout that Nan would be proud of, "you know if you're going to sell me a story, at least make the ending happy."

"Story telling is a family occupation of mine, but that, my friend, wasn't a story." A byproduct of _the_ Story, yes, but not just _a_ story. "Besides, my stories usually have very…grim endings."

_…_

One more girl was sent home—leaving a total of eight girls out of the original twelve. Even though it's only been a few hours, it feels like I've been here for days. I'm grateful to be able to have a moment alone in the room I've assigned. It gives me time to recap the day and draft a plan for the next one. The testing, as far as I know, there are two days, maybe three left of testing before Teague and the Fates announce their pick in the future queen. If I play my cards right, but too much so, I'll be able to make it to the final rounds and make sure that one of the good girls ends up with him. But then again some of the good ones are just bad girls that haven't been caught. I mean look at me: I was originally going to kill Teague before my godmothers told me the change of plans.

There's a rapping on the door. I open the door to find a very nervous looking porter. "G-good evening your Highness."

"Good evening, sir, how may I help you?"

The boy looks a bit taken off guard by my politeness but continues with his nervous stamper. "I-I'm sorry to inform you that we cannot locate your trunks. It seems as if someone misplaced them."

The boy—who couldn't have been more than late twelve, maybe thirteen years old—stands before me slightly hunched as if bracing for me to hit him. I tentatively reach out my hand and put it softly on his shoulder. He flinches. My stomach drops at the sight of this. Does someone hit him regularly for him to brace like that? Is it all the royal guests or someone on staff? If I find out it's Teague for some reason, I _will_ kill him, mission change or not.

"That's perfectly alright." I give the kid a slight grin despite the wave of irritation that just washed over me, "I'll live. I can come up with something for myself."

"A-are you sure? I can have someone bring you something, it'll just take a bit of time."

"Nonsense," I shoo him off. "I'm quite alright. Where I'm from, people are praised for being able to think on their feet for themselves. I can take care if it myself."

A smile pulls on the lanky blond's lips, "if you change your mind, princess, send for me and I'll fetch you whatever you like. My name is Davy."

"Well, Davy, it was nice meeting you. Goodnight." Davy gives me a slight bow and begins walking away.

Once Davy rounds the corner, I close the door and place my back against it. It takes me a while to take in all the details of the suite then another few seconds to realizes that I've been here before. It was a sitting room not far from the bathing room. It had barely changed in a few hundred years, the only difference is that I can seen behind the doors that separate the sitting room from the inviting four-poster bed, wardrobe, and window. I remember Teague presenting me with a dress the day I was here, me changing the dress to what I wanted, Teague's surprise.

I stroll over to the full-body mirror in the corner of the room, giving myself a once over. The breathtaking dress I had donned this morning has most definitely seen better days. The feathers are scattered every which way after being torn loose form my scuffle with Ferah and my jumping around to try to get my shoe back from Annalora. It's sad to say the pure white and gold masterpiece has a splatter of blood on the bodice. I regret nothing that caused the slash to get where it is, but it's a shame that I couldn't keep my last gift from Mei as untouched as it was before I put it on.

With a deep breath and closed eyes, I try to concentrate on the electric hum of the Fae energy around me. It's not hard since if there's one thing here in the palace, it's power that I can use. It takes a minute to taylor the amount of energy needed and a few different outfit changes, but I manage to transform my gown into my favorite pair of pajamas from home: a pair of pink shorts with hearts and a matching tank with the word _heartbreaker _in black on the chest. I know I've done this before and I always change the Grimoire, but there's still the tinge of excitement in begin able to do things like this.

The only thing about the outfit that I'm not jazzed about is the glass slippers on my feet. Should I take them off to sleep? That seems irresponsible. At any moment it can shoot be back to the past and allow me to get more information about the mission, but the diamonds in the heel haven't moved a bit. Even if it did take me back, I'd be in my pajamas without being able to say for fact if I'd be able to get back to this time and right all my wrongs.

With a heavy sigh, I slide the heels off, put them on the bedside table, and climb into the large, soft bed. As soon as I'm comfortable and ready snooze off, I realize that I forgot to put out the fire. It's not like this place is fire-resistant or anything, so I'd rather be safe than sorry. Instead of sitting up and blowing it out, I decide to use this as a chance to put into practice what my mom likes to call 'lazy luck' and try to wave the fire out. It yields no results but I can't say that I'm surprised. Nor am I shocked when wiggling my fingers at the flame doesn't put it out, but that doesn't mean that I'm not getting irritated by the resilient thing.

I finally crawl out of the comfy covers and kneel in front of the candle. I bring my hand within centimeters of the burning flame, feeling the heat run up my fingertips. There's a hint of pain, but it matches some of the feeling of the tingling of all this Fae energy. I concentrate of putting the thing out, but it resists, much to my annoyance.

"Fine, if I can't stop it, I'll change it." I picture the candle darkened out, but the fire flickers before going on as it was before. "Stupid thing."

A window in the room blows open and extinguishes the candle in one breeze despite my previous efforts, leaving me in complete darkness. Goose bumps that shoot up my arm and the hairs on the back of my neck stand. I don't need light to know that I'm not alone in this room. "Do you sneak into all the girls' rooms?"

"No," there's a hint of surprise laced in Teague's voice. "Only those who try and protect me one minute, then punch a princess in the face the next. From what I heard, it was over a…shoe." So the brat did tattle tell.

I see Teague reaching for my shoes on the table and quickly grab them before he can. "Well, if you already know, then you should know better than to mess with a girl's footwear." There's a hint of playfulness in my voice, but I don't think he noticed. He's too busy checking my outfit (or me?) out. He reignites the candle by just looking at it then takes a seat on my bed.

"What are you wearing? I've never seen such clothes. Is this what you wear in your kingdom? Do you wear your title proudly on your chest? I didn't know that there was such a thing as a breaker of hearts."

The amount of confusion on his face can only be described as adorable. A chuckle slips through my lips before I can stop it, "A 'Heartbreaker' is someone that saddens others because people desire to be with them and have no chance. Well either that or they're a player and that breaks people's figurative hearts."

His eyebrows furl, "what does being a player in a game have to do with anything? Why would that be a desirable thing to be?"

Having dealt with Nix and his constant questions, I know that if I answered one, there'd be other questions to follow. "You know what, that's a cultural lesson for another day. Just understand that this is meant to be cute and a lot of girls where I'm from dress like this."

"I will say that it is a bit more than cute," his eyes give me a once over. "I will have to go to where you are from to understand better the things you say." He pauses and meets my eyes, "where is that, exactly?"

"Kennedy," I reply automatically. "You have to know how to get there or else there's no way you'll end up in the right place. Only my family can navigate between our kingdom and yours without much help." Not a lie, seeing that with a seam ripper you can jump the planes, it's just jumping the times is a bit tricky.

"Well you'll have to bring me there sometime," Teague says with a smile.

"First Ever's request for the boots and now you," I joke. "Looks like there'll be a field trip to my place."

I can see Teague try to connect the dots between why I would want to go to a field to trip, but he lets it go. "So, you and Ever are getting along? I won't have to worry about you punching yet another person, will I?"

I roll my eyes in response, "Ever seems to be very nice and I like her humor. I'm pretty sure we can be friends."

It's Teague's turn to roll his eyes, "you know, not many people would make it a point to befriend their competitors unless for personal gain. It seems like you are using this as a social call."

"Well you never know who's going to win. I already made one enemy, so I may as well make some friends, too. If one kingdom tries to attack me, I may as well have some allies, right?"

Teague gives a a nod of approval. "That is a wise outlook on the matter. Tell me, are you a sociable person?"

"Not really, but I do what I must," I shrug. "I'd rather sit down with a book instead of party, but my best friend back home, Nan, loves to go out, so you'll see me socializing when it's her doing."

"Books are also one of my favorite pastimes! Except I dabble with writing them sometimes, too."

"Oh I bet you're one heck of a storyteller," I smirk, mentally laughing. "You seem like you're…a creative person."

He gives me a nod of thanks, a light blush on his cheeks. "Well I must be off, Princess Mina. Tomorrow's test requires quite a bit of energy."

I arch an eyebrow, "any hints?"

"I'm afraid not." Teague takes a step towards me to push a lock my my hair behind my ear. "Goodnight, princess."

There's another breeze through the room and Teague is gone. I turn to go back to the bed and realize something: the damn candle is still on!

**Post-recap Word Count: 3,220**


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